Thoughts on Time & Space

As I come back to the world after winter break and a bit of hiatus with the podcast and the blog, I was reflecting on the clarity I feel like I had during this time. I didn’t have to do anything other than work and take care of the apartment, spend time with my wife and our friends, and hang out with our dog. It was great.

This down time was precipitated by my new job I got in August. It is a remote job and encourages working flexibly. We have team members and constituents all over the country, so it makes sense to sometimes plug in a little later if you’re on the East Coast to collaborate with West Coast folks. Also, we have to travel a bit for different things, so if you need to catch up on work at odd hours, it’s totally okay. There is also a unlimited PTO policy so as long as you’re not leaving everyone in the dark to cover for you, you can take any needed time for special occasions or just to unplug during the holidays for example. Lastly, I don’t have to commute any more, which is awesome just for the time saved but also the stress. Since the new job has a lot of moving pieces to learn and the flexibility I was looking for, I winded down some side projects so I could take a bit of a breather.

This is the context for the past few months for me. I feel ready to ease back in to some of these side projects I have now. It was funny that since I had more room in my life for other things, I was more thoughtful about what I filled it with. I had a lot of momentum filling my limited precious time with podcasting, writing, editing other people’s shows, etc. before I got this new job. But now that I was going to be able to be making more money and have more time on my hands, I figured I should step back to rethink my priorities.

There have been a lot of recent articles this past year examining burnout and self-care. They’ve made me think a lot about the things I should be focusing on and how I nurture my own energy. Something I say a lot is that you make time for what you want to make time for. This is how we subconsciously reflect our priorities in the choices we make and the actions we take. This can also be retooled as an intentional way of being. We must make time for the things that are important to us. Otherwise, we’re going to build up internal stress and pressure, and not be our best selves. This manifested for me when it came to playing games. I didn’t make it a priority and I was far more stressed most of time because of it. Now that my life has settled down and I have more space, I’m playing a little bit almost every day.

It’s all about values and how we value our own time. We can work all day and every weekend, but what do we have to show for it? Certainly not much in the short term. Often we’re salaried and not getting overtime. We’re setting unhealthy expectations about our availability that we have to work to undo. We also always have the opportunity cost of not being able to do anything else we could be doing with that time. The relationships with the people around us and our other obligations will suffer. And yes, this includes making time for the gym, going to the doctor, and getting other errands done.

I hope these thoughts on time and space are helpful to you. I wanted to write again and this felt the most salient as both a general update on what I’ve been up to and also what I’ve been thinking a lot about.

"Is This Some Kind Of Jock?!" Surviving College When You Hate Sports

For some people, it's the reason they go to college, for others it is the epitome of their worst nightmare. When you go to college, you have to put up with a certain amount of sport. And it's one of those populist things that everybody is supposed to like, and you have to get behind your team, and so forth, but what if you just want to indulge in your guilty pleasures in your dorm room, and stay away from the fanfare? For a lot of people, it can be very difficult to survive college, but there are some practical ways to survive those big college games, where you seem to be the only person that hasn't gone.

Indulge Your Passion

Not to stereotype, but there are plenty of great games you can get involved in, that are so immersive, you can block out the rest of the world. To have a truly immersive atmosphere, you need to set up a place that is for you and you alone. So get inspired, and set up a gaming desk will that can contain everything you need. If it stuck for inspiration, have a look at sites like HotRate to see what type of gaming desks you can get. But if you really want to set up an immersive experience for your gaming, you need to make sure the environment is a suitable one. So that's good quality headphones, preferably noise canceling ones, and get comfy because you are going to be there all day.

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Get Away From The Fanfare

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the college, at least for the weekend! The big games are usually on a Saturday, so why don't you go home and spend time with your family? Failing that, why don't you indulge in a movie marathon at your local multiplex? A lot of people can only go see movies when they are on their own, so there's nobody else next to them talking, and if this is you, this is a perfect opportunity.

Stake Out a Coffee House

If you can't stay in your dorm room, why don't you take your favorite book, have a nice macchiato, and scope a seat by the window? At least, in this sense, you are being a little bit more sociable than hiding away in your dorm room, and if you are bored of your book, it might be time to think about indulging in the new hobby.

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Get A New Hobby!

Photography, museums, writing that book, or even doing some coursework if you really are keen to get away from the sports, then at least make it practical. There's no point being all Holden Caulfield about it and sulking in your dorm room while everyone else is cheering the team on, so why don't you at least do something that is good for yourself, inspires you, and gives you a new found enthusiasm for your free time?

It can be very difficult if you don't like sports, but a lot of people don't, so why don't you find those people out as well? It can feel alienating not being into any type of sport, but there's always something to help you survive those sporty periods.

Why It Pays To Be A Geek Later On In Life

“Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit the earth.” It’s a slogan you’ll find on many t-shirts or kitchen item, and never has it been more true. You might have felt like being the class geek or school nerd was a bad thing in high school, but once you’ve left school and gym class is far behind you - there’s a whole world out there for you. Being a geek in later life is no bad thing, and could help you to push yourself further than you could imagine.

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Learn a language, enjoy better career success

Learning a language will benefit you for many reasons, and one of the most important could be your career. Did you know that Mark Zuckerberg has been learning Mandarin? He’s just one example of the many successful businessmen who are bilingual. Learning a second language could boost your career and open up a whole new set of doors for you. As something you can do at any age to widen your prospects, why not take some time each day during your morning commute or lunch break to start learning another language?

Making the most of that thick-skin

If you were a geek in high school, you might look back on your younger years as some of the worst of your life - and who can blame you? From being rejected by the opposite sex to verbal taunts - you were probably counting down the days until school was over. A lot of what we go through as kids can help shape who we are as adults, and if you had a particularly tough time then it’s likely you’ve developed a great thick-skin. Being able to rise up against the setbacks and the rejection will make you more determined to succeed in your endeavors, an important quality to have when setting out to achieve your goals.

Achieve your career goals

If you want to go far in life, you’re going to need to keep learning new things. You may not be ready to complete a masters degree at 22, but these days it’s never too late or too difficult to start learning again. You could decide to master lean manufacturing at any age if you feel that it’s the next step in your career by completing an online degree. Being able to continue to learn and push yourself to achieve new things will help you to achieve your career goals and put you ahead of the rest.

Having interests that make you happy

A lot of being a geek is having interests in things that others might not understand or find bewildering, but embracing these things will make you a much happier person. Whether you love to watch geeky TV shows or have a favorite computer game, having a passion and an interest in something will make your life much more fulfilled.

Wanting to better yourself through learning is a fantastic way to help you progress in your career and fulfill your ambitions. Even if you’re not your typical geek, it’s not a bad personality trait to have to help you reach your goals. What do you want to achieve in life? Geek out and go get it.